


The Prince and the Knight

by Siancore



Series: Sambucky Bingo [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Bucky is a Knight, M/M, Royalty AU, Sam is a Prince, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23584933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siancore/pseuds/Siancore
Summary: Written for the Royalty AU square on my Sambucky Bingo card. Bucky is the Knight who finds out his lover and Prince, Sam, is to marry someone else to form an allegiance between kingdoms.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Series: Sambucky Bingo [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561825
Comments: 22
Kudos: 81
Collections: Sambucky Bingo





	The Prince and the Knight

Though he had travelled by horseback for the better part of three days and was stiff and achy from the journey, the Knight climbed the stairs with urgency and ease. Being the ‘best friend’ of the Crown Prince afforded him access to that particular part of the citadel. Despite how lethargic he was, the Knight was driven forward by his need to see the Prince and to hear the words from his mouth.

The Knight had one hand pressed to the hilt of his sword, out of habit, while the other grasped the letter he had received a week ago whilst on border patrol. He felt his heart sink to his stomach as his traitorous brain flashed the words over and over again in his minds eye:

_My Dearest,_

_I trust this finds you well._

_I am sorry you are to find out this way, but it seems I am to be wed in the coming months._

_She is from an honorable, noble family and will surely make a dutiful wife. She will celebrate the nineteenth anniversary of her birth this week. My father hopes for news of an heir by the harvest moon. I feel sick and I miss you._

_Of course, I do not want this. I want you and only you. But we were sure that this day would come. As sure of the fact that the sun would rise and set._

_I am sorry._

_My heart aches for you._

_Forgive me._

_Yours forever,_

_S._

The Knight took a deep breath as he reached the large wooden doors that led to the Prince’s sitting room. He knocked thrice and waited. His stomach was in knots. After a moment, a servant answered.

“I seek an audience with the Prince,” he said, and the boy nodded his head before letting him into the small room.

“Wait here, Sir,” he proffered, and the Knight did as he was instructed.

After a brief moment, the door to the Prince’s chambers opened, and the Knight was led inside.

“You’re excused,” said the Prince to his serving boy, who swiftly dipped his head and scurried away.

The Prince stood staring out of the window, with a cup in his hand. The light from the late afternoon sun shone through the glass and caressed his pretty features. The Knight’s breath hitched and his heart beat faster. It did not matter how many times his eyes fell upon the Prince, he was always left breathless.

He was wearing his ceremonial garb; his ceremonial sword hung at his left and his crown sat atop his head. He always looked regal, even when he and the Knight were still children who practised with wooden swords. Even when they were a little older, and would sneak away from their nursemaid and steal secret kisses from one another. Even when they were young men, curious and passionate, and fell into bed together. He _always_ looked regal. And in the back of the Knight’s mind, he always knew that the day would come where his duty to his father’s kingdom would take priority over their love. Not only would he look regal, but he would have to _be_ regal.

“My Prince,” the Knight greeted, causing him to finally turn and cast his gaze in his direction.

His beautiful brown eyes looked so sad as he offered a weak smile and said, “My Love.”

The Knight inched closer, steadying his breath, and willing himself not to cry.

“Is it true?” the Knight asked as he held up the crumpled letter. “You’re to marry this girl?”

His own voice sounded strange as he asked the question; he sounded tired and scared. He _was_ tired and scared. He waited for his beloved to proffer a response as he tossed the letter aside. The Knight watched as the Prince sighed loudly and placed his cup down.

“Yes,” said the Prince, averting his gaze a moment. “My father is to announce it to the Court forthwith, as soon as the terms of the arrangement have been drawn up.”

The Knight felt his heart drop.

“I see,” he replied, his voice cracking as a lump formed in his throat. “And you’re going to do it? You’re going to make her your – your wife?”

The Prince met the Knight’s eyes, “My father says I have to.”

“I know,” he whispered, as he closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath.

The Prince stepped forward, and took hold of the Knight’s hands before saying, “But I don’t want to. I only want you.”

He reached his hand up and brushed the Knight’s long tresses away from his face.

“And I want you, too,” he replied, taking hold of the Prince’s hand and placing a soft kiss to his palm.

He wrapped his arms around the Prince’s waist, as the Prince draped his arms over his shoulders. They pressed their foreheads together and swayed gently. The Knight leaned back slightly and stared into his lover’s eyes. He could see the anguish therein and it pained him to his core. 

“We could leave this place together,” said the Knight. “We could go and never come back.”

The Prince saw the sincerity in the Knight’s eyes and his heart soared. And just as swiftly as it floated, it sank, too. It sank at the realization that, while fleeing would mean they could be together, it also came with risks.

“My father would track us down,” the Prince said plaintively. “I would be reprimanded lightly. Lectured and scolded. Locked in my room. They would not be so lenient with you. You would be tried for treason, if they tried you at all. A ditch by the side of a road would most likely be their solution. I could not place you in harm’s way like that. I just could not. Even now I fear that we might be caught, and they might hurt you.”

“You are worth it,” said the Knight in earnest. “I would lay down my life for you. I would do _anything_ for you, even if it means I have to give you up.”

Silence enveloped them a moment as the Knight’s words sunk in.

“Are you willing to give me up?” asked the Prince, the strain evident in his usually rich voice.

“I don’t want to,” said the Knight, tears brimming in his eyes. “But it seems I will have to. It was foolish of me to even suggest that we run away together when your people need you. They need a good man to be king. They need you.”

“And what about you?” asked the Prince. “What of your needs?”

“I need you to be safe and happy –”

“How am I to be happy without you?”

“Your honorable, dutiful wife won’t make you unhappy,” the Knight states, with bitterness laced through his words; the Prince sighed.

“What will you do, Sir Knight, if I marry this girl?”

Silence passed between them a beat as their hearts cried out for one another amidst the hopelessness.

 _If you marry her, I will die_ , he mused. _I will surely die because how can I live without you?_

The Knight does not say that, however. He knows the Prince will be a loyal husband to his betrothed. He knows that what they have will come to an end once the Prince vows to honor his wife. He knows this, and it is tearing him apart, but he also knows that the kingdom needs a leader such as his beloved. A leader who places the wellbeing of his people above his own; a true statesman who is loyal, trustworthy, generous, and smart. Deep down, he hopes the Prince will decline his father’s wishes; deep down, he hopes _his_ Prince will simply say, _No. I will marry for love, and not as a political move._

He pushes his hopes aside and speaks, “If you marry her, I – I will continue to fight for your father’s army and stand by your side. I will serve you, as any knight should and would. I will watch _her_ belly grow with your child, and when that child is born, I will swear my allegiance to them, too. I will watch _you_ grow, and take your place on the throne, as it should be. I will watch you lead this land with diplomacy and strength. The strength we all _need_. And I will love you, as our sovereign ruler; as my Prince; as I have _always_ loved you. If you marry her, I will love you still.”

The Prince let out a shaky breath and cupped the Knight’s face, before saying, “You shouldn’t – I do not want you to pine after me if I wed another. I do not want you to put your life on hold. You should take a wife of your own; your family lineage should not end with you because of me –”

“I already resigned myself to the fact that my family name will die with me,” said the Knight with a small, plaintive smile. “I knew it would the day I fell in love with you. There is not one other soul out there that is tethered to mine like yours is. There is no other person in this world with whom I can see myself; no one I want to be with. You are it, my Sammy; my love. You are it for me.”

Tears began to fall from the Prince’s eyes as the Knight drew him nearer and pressed a soft kiss to his trembling lips. They inched apart ever so slightly, their breath warm on each other’s lips.

“I cannot do this,” said the Prince, barely audible in his vast chambers.

The Knight’s chest rose and fell as the air was forced from his lungs before he whispered, “I am sorry. I should not make this anymore difficult for you than it already is. I will go –”

“No,” said the Prince, a he grasped onto the Knight tightly. “I meant I cannot go through with the wedding. I cannot give you up. I _refuse_ to give you up. I love you too much.”

The Knight could not hold back his smile, but he still worried what this meant for his Prince.

“What will you tell your father?” he asked, as he rubbed circles into the Prince’s back.

“I will tell him I will not marry someone as a matter of the state,” said the Prince. “I will marry as a matter of the heart, and my heart belongs not to the daughter of one of his allies, it belongs to you.”

“And if he protests?”

“Then we leave, together, you and I,” said the Prince. “And I will return to take the throne when it is my time, with you at my side as my consort; as my Knight; as my husband.”


End file.
